Half to george sanderson



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.v

(No Model.)

T. D. STROUP.

VOTING MACHINE.

No. 548,403. Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

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3. /z www u UNtTnn STATES PATENT Ormea.

THOMAS D. STROUP, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOGEORGE SANDERSON, OF SAME PLACE.

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SPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,403, dated October22, 1895.

Application led July 2 3 l 8 95 To @ZZ whom zit may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS D. STROUP, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California,have invented an Improvement in Voting-Machines; and I hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to voting-machines; and it consists, in connectionwith the keys and the registeringdevice operated thereby, of a novellocking-bar actuated by the keys and adapted to permit the operation ofone or more of the keys, as the case may require.

It also consists in the means for actuating the locking-bar, so as tocause it to subserve its function upon the operation of a stated numberof keys and the means by which this stated number may be variedaccording to the necessities of the case.

Italso consists in means interposed between the keys and the registeringmechanism by which the latter' is operated by the operation of theformer.

It also consists in the means controlled by the closing of the door ofthe booth as the voter departs, of setting back the mechanism to itsinitial position ready for a fresh operation, and it finally consists indetails of arrangement, construction, land combination, which I shallhereinafter fully describe and specifically claim.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a simple andeffective locking device by which the number of keys operated can beaccurately fixed, whereby the voter is permitted to operate that numberof keys and no more.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective viewof the operative mechanism of my machine, the box or casing being brokenaway to show the relative arrangement of parts. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of keys and bars. Fig. 3 is a view showing the employment ofthe locking-bar alone. Fig. 4 is a View showing the combining of thelocking-bars in parallel sets.

Upon the front of a case A are properly delineated the names ofcandidates, political parties, and other necessary matter bywhich thevoter is to be guided. Beside each name Serial No. 556,895. (No model.)

is a key B. In the instance shown in the drawings the four keys are torepresent four candidates for the same office, as-for example, that ofmayor. The Shanks of these keys extend through the front of the casing,and they are controlled by springs b, whereby they are normallyprojected. To the shank of each key is attached a body portion C, theinner extremity of which is provided with an inclined plane c on the topedge and a notch c on the bottom edge. Between suitably-fixed guides Dis mounted and adapted to slide the locking-bar E, which is controlledby a spring e, whereby it is normally retracted. This locking-bar isprovided with notchese throughout its length, said notches being solocatedas not to be in perfect alignment with the planes of movement ofthe keybodies C. These notches are, however, in the normal position ofthe locking-bar E in line with or open to the extreme points of theinclined planesc of said bodies, whereby, if any one key be pressedinwardly, its inclined plane extremity will enter the notch of thelocking-bar opposite to it. This entering of the notch will by reason ofthe inclined plane cause the upward movement of the locking-bar E, andthis upward movement will be sufticient to allow the key-body to passthrough its notch, but will throw all the other notches of thelocking-bar ont of line with the points of all the other keys, so thatas long as the locking-bar is held in this position none of the otherkeys can be operated, as each will be completely blocked or stopped bysaid bar. Upon the withdrawal of the key which has passed through it thebar E will return under the influence of its spring e, so that itsnotches will again be presented to the action of the inclined plane ofanyone of the keys. Itis obvious, therefore, that if but one of a groupof candidates is to be voted for it is only necessary to hold thelocking-bar E in the position to which it has been moved by the keyrepresenting that one candidate, and as long as it is so held none ofthe other keys can be operated. This is the simplest operation of thelocking-bar and will be best explained at this time and by reference toFig.

When but one candidate is to be voted for, the locking-bar will have onits top on one IOO ' and so retracts said pawl.

edge teeth e2, with which a spring-controlled pawl e3 is adapted toengage in order to hold the bar up. vThe pawl is released by means of asliding bar e4, having an inclined plane e5, which operates against apin e6 on the pawl, This sliding bar e4 is the equivalent of and is tobe actuated by the same means as the rod M, hereinafter 'described inconnection with the means for voting for several of a group ofcandidates.

In the case ot' voting for a single candidate, as above described, thekey operated is still heldin its pressed-in position by reason of itsnotch c being locked in the notch of the locking-bar, and said key isnot releasedto enable it to spring out again until said locking-bardescends. In this way the votercannot operate the same key twice.

In those cases where several candidates of a group are to be voted forfor the same ofthe-as, for example, for the oftice of supervisor andwhere the instruction is to vote for a number for the sameoiice-provision must be made for setting the machine in such a way thatthe voter can operate the required number of keys and no more. To ei'ectthis I have also mounted in the guides D a moving bar F, controlled by aspringf. This bar has notches j", which are directly in line with theplanes of movement of the key-bodies C, so that the inclined planes orpoints of said key-bodies are adapted to enter said notches at any timeand thereby to elevate the bar F. Mounted in the machine above is aratchetwheel G, with the teeth otl whicha pawl f2 on the bar F isadapted to engage on each upward movement of the bar. Mounted in asuitable guide II is a pawl I controlled by a spring c'. This pawl is adouble one, having a point or tooth t" adapted to engage with the teethofthe ratchet G from behind and a point or tooth t2, which is adapted toengage with teeth f3 on the upper end of the bar F. A spring g controlsthe ratchet G in such a manner as to throw it around until it is limitedby a xed stop J in the guide H by son ot' a stop-pin g on the ratchetcoming in Contact with the tjxed stop J. The stop g on the ratchet isadjustable to various places, as by means ot' fitting in a series ofholes g2 in said ratchet, so that by placingit in different holes thetime of contact with the fixed stop J will be varied, and the ratchet Gwill be pulled around by its spring to a greater or less extent,according to the contact ot' these stops. In the ratchet G, at onelplace,is made a deep notch II.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows: Suppose it to beintendedthat the voter shall vote for three candidates for the same otce. Insuch a case the stop g is so adjusted as to permit the spring of theratchetwheel G to turn said wheel around far enough that the deep notchK will be removed from the line of action of the point t" ot' the pawl Ithe distance of three ot' the ratchet-teeth. The voter entering thebooth presses one of tooth more.

the keys B, whereby the inclined plane-point of said key entering thenotch of the bar F will lift said bar and cause its pawl f2 to cngagewith the ratchet Gand move said ratchet around one tooth. In thisposition the ratchet is held by the point t" of the pawl I, but theteeth of the ratchet are too shallow7 to allow the other point i2 ofsaid pawl I to come to engagement with the teeth f3 of the bar F, sothat when the key B is relieved and springs outwardly the bar F willdescend to its original position. The voter thereupon operates a secondkey and the ratchet G is moved one The voter then operates a third key,and upon this movement of the ratchet G the deep notch K, which hasadvanced one tooth at each movement, is brought around into line withthe point t" of the pawl I, so that said point enters the deep notch,and thus allows the whole pawl I to move over far enough to cause itsother point 2 to enter a tooth f3 of the bar F, and thereby to hold saidbar up. In thus holding the bar up the third key cannot return to itsouterposition, for the reason that it is held by its bottom notch c,Iittingover the notch ofthe bar F. This holding of the key necessarilyholds the lockingbar E, heretofore fully described, and which has beenmoved up by the keys, in an elevated position, because it cannot comedown,

for the reason that the key-body is passed through it, and as it cannotcome down it locks all the other keys, and no more of them can beoperated. In like manner if fourcandidates are to be voted for the stopg is so regulated as to remove the deep notch K of theratchet-wheelfromthe pointe" of the pawl I a distance of four teeth ofthe ratchet, so that it will not be brought around into alignment withsaid point i until four of the keys have been operated, and in this casethe yfourth key will be locked in a pressed-in position by the holdingup of the bar F, and

`this pressed-in position of the key will, in

turn, hold up the bar E, and said barwillprey vent the movement of anyother keys.

In order to relieve the bar F, and thereby to relieve the locking-bar E,there is in the upper portion of the case A a sliding bar L, having uponit at one place an inclined plane l.. Thisinclined plane Z is adapted tooperate upon and to depress a pin m in a verticallymoving rodM, whichhas upon it lower down an inclined plane m', adapted to operate againsta pin or stud t3 on the pawl I. By moving the sliding barLit will causethe rod M to move downwardly, and said rod, through its inclined planefm', acting on the pinv or stud t3, will cause the pawl I to retract,thereby withdrawing its front point i2 from the teeth -f ofthe bar F andallowing said bar to descend, and also withdrawing its rear point t"from the deep notch K of the ratchet-wheel G and allowing saidratchet-wheel to spring back toits normal position, defined by thecontact of the stops g and J. The descent of the bar F, as thusdescribed,will release IIC the last key pressed in, which saidkey,spring ing outwardly again, will release the lockingbar E, so thatthe parts thus return to their normal position.

The bar L is adapted to be operated automatically by the closing of thedoor of the booth upon the outgoing of the voter. In order to effectthis there is secured to the door of the booth (which door I have notherein shown) a segment-bar N, the end of which is adapted to come incontact with the lug Z on the bar L when said door is closed, therebymoving said bar over.

The indicating mechanism may be of any suitable character, the readingbeing effected by means of an ordinary register operated by acombination of multiple wheels, such as I have shown by O. The first ofeach of these wheels is adapted to be operated by means ot' a shortlever P, the end of which is in the line of the point of the inclinedplane c of its respective key. As this point of the key projects throughthe bars E and F, as heretofore described, it comes in contact with thelever P, and by raising said lever causes the partial turning of one ofthe multiple wheels O and thereby effecting the registration of themovement. The lever P remains in a slightly-elevated position when thusmoved, so that the operation of the same key a second time will not havethe effect of registering again. The connection between each lever P andthe wheel of the series O is by means of a pawlp engaging theratchet-teeth of said wheel. In order to effect the return of the leverP to its normal position, ready for a repetition of the operation, Iextend the rod M downwardly past all of the levers, and I have pins orstuds m on said rod, which are adapted to come down, as the roddescends, upon said levers and return them to normal position.

In cases where there are a great number of candidates to be voted forfor the same oce and it is undesirable to arrange the keys representingsaid candidates in one line I have provided for arranging them morecompactly in parallel lines. To do this I have only to connect thelooking-bars of the parallel lines as I have shown in Fig. Il. In thiscase the parallel locking-bars E are provided with notches e7 in ,theiredges directly opposite one another. Between these two bars extendtransversely -slidable locking -links e8, the ends of which are formedto conform to the notches e7 of the two bars. The length of theintervening links e8 is such that when the point on one side is enteredinto the notch of the bar on that side the point on the other side iswithdrawn from the notches of the other bar by a distance equal to thedepth of suoli notch, so that the points of said links are in thegeneral plane of the edge of said other bar. When, now, either of thebars is moved upwardly and is held up in a locked position, asheretofore described, the points of the links will bear against theplain or unnotched side of said bar, so that the other bar cannot belifted, for the reason that the other points of the links engaging saidbar hold it, and said links cannot be moved over sidewise because theirother points bear directly against the unnotched edge of the lifted bar.Thus the lifting' and holding of one of the bars will lock all theothers of the series, so that no more keys can be operated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a voting machine, and in combination with slidable keys havinginclined points, a slidable locking bar having notches adapted to beengaged by the inclined points of the keys whereby when the bar is inits normal position, the points of all the keys will engage the notchesof said bar, but when raised by any one of the keys, the notches of thebar will be ont of line with the points of all the other keys, so thatthe latter cannot be operated, a slidable spring-actuated pawl adaptedto engage teeth or notches on the upper portion of the slidable pawl, tohold the bar elevated, and a slidable bar having an inclined plane toengage said pawl and withdraw it from its engagement with the toothedsurface of the notched bar and allow the latter bar to resume its normalposition.

2. In a voting machine, and in combination with slidable keys havinginclined points, a slidable bar arranged on end and adapted to slidevertically, having notches adapted to be engaged by the inclined pointsof the keys, said notches being so located that when the bar is innormal position, the points of all the keys will engage the notches ofsaid bar,but when raised by any one of the keys, the notches ot' saidbar will beont of line with the points of all the other keys whereby thelatter cannot be operated, a spring-actuated pawl slidable at rightangles with the movement of the locking bar, and adapted to engage thesame at its upper portion, to hold the bar in the position to which itis moved by one of said keys whereby the others are locked, and a barslidably mounted approximately parallel with the locking bar, having aninclined plane to engage a projection of the pawl and retract said pawlwhereby the locking bar is released for the repetition of the operation.

In a voting machine, the combination, of slidable keys the upper edgesof which are formed with inclined planes and the lower edges withnotches c', a slidable locking bar having notches adapted to be engagedby the inclined points of the keys and to in turn have their end wallsengage the said notches c whereby the engaged key cannot return tooperative position, a pawl slidably mounted at right angles with themovement of the locking bar, and adapted to engage the upper portion ofthe same, to hold the bar in the position to which it is moved by oneot' the keys, whereby the others are locked, and a bar slidably mountedparallel or approxi- ICO IXO

IIS

mately parallel with the locking bar, and having an inclined surface toengage a projection of the pawl, and retract said pawl whereby thelocking bar is released for a repetition of the operation.

4. In a voting machine, the combination of slidable keys having theinclined points and locking notches, the slidable locking bar having thenotches adapted to receive the inclined points of said keys, saidnotches being so located that when the bar is raised by the passagethrough one of its notches of one of the keys, all the other notcheswill be thrown out of line with the points of the other keys, a secondslidable bar, having notches in line with the points of said keys andthrough which said points are adapted to move, a means for holding saidsecond bar up whereby the key is locked by engagement with its notch,and the locking bar held up to prevent the operation of the remainingkeys, and a means, operated by the movement of saidsecond bar, forcontrolling at predetermined times, the means for holding said bar up.

5. In a voting machine, the combination of slidable keys having theinclined points and locking notches, the slidable locking bar having thenotches adapted to receive the inclined points of said keys, saidnotches being so located that when the bar is raised by the passagethrough one of its notches of one of the keys all its other notches Willbe thrown out of line with the points of the other keys, a secondslidable bar having notches in line with the points of said keys, andthrough which said points are adapted to move, a pawl on said bar, aratchet with which said pawl engages, and a pawl controlled by saidratchet for engaging, at predetermined times, the second slidable barand holding it up whereby the key is locked by engagement with itsnotch, and the locking bar held up to prevent the operation of theremaining keys.

6. In a voting machine, the combination of the slidable keys with theirinclined points and underlying notches, the slidable locking bar, withits notches as described, the second slidable bar with its notches andpawl, the ratchet-wheel with which the pawl engages, said ratchet-wheelhaving a deep notch and a controlling spring, variable stops forregulating the position of the deep notch of the ratchet-wheel, and thetwo-pointed springcontrolled pawl adapted to engage the ratchet- Wheel,and when engaging the deep notch to also engage the second slidable barwhereby said bar is held elevated and the key last operated is locked tohold the locking bar up and prevent the operation of the remaining keys.

'7. In a voting machine, the combination ofy the slidable keys Withtheirinclined points and underlying notches, the slidable locking bar, withits notches as described, the second slidable bar with its notches andpawl, the ratchet-Wheel with which the pawl engages,

said ratchet-wheel having a deep notch and a controlling spring,variable stops for regulating the position of the deep notch of theratchet-Wheel, the two-pointed spring -controlled pawl ada-pted toengage the ratchetwheel, and when engaging the deep notch to also engagethe second slidable bar whereby said bar is held elevated and the keylast operated is locked to hold the locking bar up and prevent theoperation of the remaining keys, and a movable rod and devices thereonfor releasing the two-pointed pawl.

8. In a voting machine, the combination of the slidable keys with theirinclined points and underlying notches, the slidable locking bar, withits notches as described, the second slidable bar with its notches andpawl, the ratchet-wheel With which the pawl engages, said ratchet-wheelhavingadeep notch and a controlling spring, variable stops forregulating the position of the deep notch of the ratchet-Wheel, thetwo-pointed springcontrolled pawl adapted to engage the ratchetwheel,and when engaging the deep notch to also engage the second slidable barwhereby said bar'is held elevated and the key last operated is locked tohold the locking bar up and prevent the operation of the remaining keys,a movable rod and devices thereon for releasing the two-pointed pawl,and the means for operating the rod M, consisting of a sliding bar Lwith its inclined plane and the bar N on the door of the booth foroperating the bar L.

9. In a voting machine, the combination of the keys having the inclinedpoints, the wheelsv of the registering mechanism, the pivoted levershaving the pawls engaging said Wheels and lying in the path of movementof the inclined points of the keys, and the means for returning saidlevers consisting of the sliding rod with its pins.

10. In a voting machine, the combination of the slidable keys with theirinclined points and underlying notches, the slidable locking bar, withits notches as described, the second slidable bar With its notches andpawl, the

ratchet-wheel with which the pawl engages,

said ratchet-wheel havingacontrolling-spring and a deep notch, variablestops for regulating the position ot the deep notch of theratchet-wheel, the two-pointed spring-controlled pawl adapted to engagethe ratchetoperating said wheels and adapted to be operated by theinclined points of the keys, and the pins on the movable rod forreturning the levers.

l1. In a voting machine, the combination, of

parallel locking bars provided with notches in their edges, directlyopposite one another, and the transversely sliding links, the ends ofwhich conform to the notches of the bars, said links having such alength that when the points on one side are entered into the notches ofthe bar on that side, the points on the other side are Withdrawn fromthe notches of the other bar, and bear against the unnotched surface ofthe bar. 1o

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

THOMAS D. STROUP. Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, WM. F. BOOTH.

